The   World 
A    Scene   of    Contest 


Z\)t  baccalaureate  fMnralri 

[1  M    JfefcSEY 

Jim    25,    1S76. 


V 

1-,,    1  \mi.>    M.CMSll.    I>.1)..    LL.D. 


PI  ESIDKNT   OP    TUB 


>:< 


\  I.  W       \ ORK  : 
ROBERT    1  AND     BROTHERS. 

1S76. 


Tin-    So  fTTisH   Philosophy  : 

tii  il.     By  Jam  h.  I U >.. 

LI  ;  oo. 

ttish  Philos- 
ophy '    cannot    fail    to   be    warmly   welcomed    I  -tudent    of 
:irv."  —  JV> 

he  more  noticeable  from  the  fact  that  its  author  is  at  once  a 
hman  and 
'•This  book,  moreover,  is  not  exclusively  a  history  am!  ex] 

but  it  loti  iphical  sketches 

of  them.     This  brings  into  play  that  sprightly  imagination  and  gen- 
eral \.  which  render  even   Pr.  McCosh's  mctaplr. 
writ;'                    loyant  and  widely  read  than  most  philosophical  pro- 
ductions, and  which,  In  so  favorable  a  field  for  their  exercise,  have 

i  over  a  book  full  of  the  profoundest  and  acutest  metaplv. 
disquisition  much  of  the  id   novel.     Few  who 

n  the  book  will  fail  to  read  it  through."  —  Presbyterian  Quarterly 
..-//,/  Princeton  Review. 


Ideas   in    Nature,    Overlooked   by 

I  )k.    TYNDAJLL  j 

Being  an  Examination  of  Dr.  Tyndall's  Belfast  Address;     l'-y 

Jambs  McCosh,  d.d..  i.l.d.    i2mo.    1  rents; 

cloth,   50  cents. 

"  Thi  I  vndall,  ad hominem  ct  ad  rationem. 

It  i-  a  sln<t  fired  directly  at  the  man  and  his  doctrines,  and  to  our 

mind   it  seems   that  Dr. 

pungent  and  forcible  ;  he  strikes  straight  from  the  shoul- 

hut  he  [a  ..  and  he  lei  >und  for  his  opponent 

cry  of  ' |" 

Tin.     Royal     Law     OF    I,<>VE; 

In   Relation   to   Law  and  to  God.      By  Dr.  McC'osii. 
i\u.<  ' 

ROBERT  CARTER  AND  BROTHERS,  Now  York. 


The  World 
A   Scene   of   Contest 


z\)t  Baccalaureate  Mention 

Preached  before  the  College  of  New  Jersey, 
June  25,  1876. 


By  JAMES   McCOSH,   D.D.,   LL.D., 

PRESIDENT   OF   THE   COLLEGE. 


>XKC 


NEW     YORK: 

ROBERT    CARTER    AND    BROTHERS. 

1876. 


Copyright, 

By  Robert  Carter  &  Brothers. 

1876. 


CamMdgti 

Press  of  John  Wilson  &  Son. 


THE  WORLD  A  SCENE  OP  COM  EST. 


"  I  will  put  enmity  between  thee  and  ike  woman,  and  between  thy  seed 
and  her  seed  ;  it  shall  bruise  thy  head,  and  thou  shall  bruise  his  heel."  — 
Gen.  iii.  15. 

TWO  extreme  views  have  been  taken  of  the  char- 
acter of  our  world  :  — 
One,  that  it  is  without  wisdom  or  design  or  good- 
ness, the  sport  of  Chance,  or  bound  in  the  grim  grasp 
of  Fate.  Those  who  favor  this  view  dwell  with  pain, 
or  with  pleasure,  on  the  disorders  which  they  see 
everywhere :  on  the  elements  warring  with  each 
other ;  on  wind  tossing  wave,  and  the  storms  de- 
stroying the  works  of  man  and  the  useful  products 
of  the  earth  ;  on  the  cross-purposes,  the  mishaps,  the 
disappointments,  in  our  lot  ;  on  the  cruel  pains,  sepa- 
rations, and  calamities  which  befall  us  ;  on  the  infirm- 
ities, disease,  and  death  which  attack  our  bodily  frame; 
on  the  oppression  of  the  weak,  the  helplessness  of  un- 
protected orphans,  and  the  wailings  of  widows;  on 
the  ingratitude  for  favors  exhibited  by  mankind  ;  on 
their  deeds  of  deceit,  betrayal,  and  vengeance;  on  the 
wicked  prospering,  and  the  good  defeated,  — and  they 
affirm  that  a  world  so  full  of  such  scenes  cannot  have 
come  from  an  all-mighty,  an  all-wise,  or  an  all-good 


4  THE    WORLD  A    SCEXE   OF  CONTEST. 

God.  These  were  the  facts  persistently  put  in  the 
front  by  the  ancient  sceptics;  and,  in  modern  times, 
they  so  impressed  the  two  Mills,  father  and  son,  that 
they  could  discover  no  unequivocal  proof  of  the  exist- 
ence of  a  God  of  infinite  power,  and  were  not  disposed 
to  believe  in  a  Deity  whose  power  is  so  limited  that 
he  cannot  prevent  the  evil.  Doubts  arising  from  the 
same  damps  and  vapors  have  so  beclouded  the  vision 
of  many  not  wishing  to  be  sceptics,  and  not  profess- 
ing to  be  philosophers,  that  they  have  hid  from  their 
view  the  Sun  that  shines  in  these  heavens. 

On  the  other  hand,  there  are  some  who  see  nothing 
in  our  world  but  order  and  beneficence.  They  fondly 
dwell  on  the  fitness  seen  in  every  part  of  the  plant 
and  animal,  and  especially  in  our  bodily  frame ;  on 
the  revolving  seasons,  and  abounding  health  and  hap- 
piness ;  on  the  pleasures  thrown  open  to  us  in  our 
homes,  —  how  dear  the  word  !  —  in  friendships  and 
the  social  circle ;  and  the  means  of  instruction  af- 
forded by  schools,  colleges,  and  churches.  Science 
has  confirmed  these  views  by  establishing  the  univer- 
sal reign  of  law  ;  and  those  who  are  instructed  in  its 
harmonies  delight  to  think  and  speak  of  the  regular 
movement  of  sun,  moon,  and  stars,  of  the  formation 
and  growth  of  worlds,  and  the  development  of  vege- 
table and  animal.  It  is  the  theme  illustrated  in  the 
man)-  works  written  in  our  language  on  natural  theol- 
ogy. Every  grateful  heart  will  think  and  speak  and 
sing  of  the  goodness  which  has  followed  us  all  our 
lives,  and  has  been  turning  what  was  seemingly  evil 
into  a  blessing. 


TIH-:    WORLD  A   SCENl  5 

Hut   does  either  of   these   views,  taken  by   itself, 

account    for   the   whole   facts?       As   against    the    - 

we  have  beauty  and  bountifulness  pressing  them- 
selves on  us  so  that  we  have  only  to  open  our  eyes  to 
behold  them  in  heaven  and  earth,  in  revolving 
sons  and  unfolding  providence.  Hut  our  world  cer- 
tainly presents  another  and  a  very  different  aspect. 
Sin  and  pain  are  also  in  our  world,  and  force  them- 
selves upon  US  whether  we  will  or  no.  Whatever  else 
is  true,  this  is  true  also.  How  it  may  have  become 
so.  we  may  not  be  able  to  tell.  The  how  is  a  very 
difficult  question  in  all  subjects.  The  man  of  science 
is  often  telling  us  the  fact  is  so  and  so,  but  has  to 
add,  "  I  low  it  is  so,  I  am  not  able  to  say."  The  pro- 
found theologian,  Augustine,  has  put  the  question, 
"Where  is  evil,  and  whence  comes  it,  since  God  the 
Good  hath  created  all  things?"  To  this  our  Quaker 
poet  answers,  simply  but  wisely, — 

"  No  victory  comes  of  all  our  strife  ; 
From  all  we  grasp  the  meaning  slips  ; 
The  Sphinx  sits  at  the  gate  of  life, 
With  the  old  question  on  her  awful  lips."' 

There  is  certainly  evil  in  our  world.  This  is  a  fact 
quite  as  sure  as  any  fact  that  we  can  specify  in  sci- 
ence or  in  practical  life.  That  there  is  evil  is  quite 
as  certain  as  that  there  is  good.  We  have  as  clear 
and  decided  proof  of  the  existence  of  the  one  as  of 
the  other.  There  is  pain  in  our  world,  and  this  is 
certainly  an  evil,  —  pain  often  keen  and  long-contin- 
ued, lasting  for  hours  and  days  ami  years,  without  the 
possibility  of  alleviation  ;  and  the  sufferer  has  to  say 


6  THE    WORLD  A   SCEXE   OE  CONTEST. 

in  the  evening,  "When  shall  it  be  morning?"  and,  in 
the  morning,  "When  shall  it  be  evening?"  There 
is  the  deeper  evil  of  sin,  of  ingratitude,  unfaithful- 
ness, deceit,  malignity.  Whatever  else  is  true,  this  is 
true  also,  —  that  we  have  sinned.  We  feel  it  in  our- 
selves :  we  take  guilt  to  ourselves,  being  convicted  by 
our  own  consciences.  We  have  to  resist  the  evil  in 
others.  No  explanation,  no  history  of  our  world,  is 
adequate,  at  first  sight  or  at  last  sight,  which  does  not 
look  at  and  embrace  both  classes  of  facts. 

On  the  one  hand,  there  are  order  and  beneficence. 
These  press  themselves  on  the  notice  of  every  one, 
unlearned  as  well  as  learned.  Science  has  succeeded 
in  showing  that  beneficent  law  reigns  in  all  know- 
able  space  and  time :  the  same  substances  are  found 
in  sun  and  distant  stars  as  in  our  earth  ;  and  the 
same  forces  of  water  and  fire  operated  millions  of 
years  ago  as  they  do  now.  But,  then,  sin  and  suffer- 
ing are  forcing  themselves  on  our  attention.  From 
their  very  first  appearance  and  all  along,  the  lower 
animals  have  been  liable  to  pain  and  death.  The 
two  —  the  good  and  evil  —  are  strangely  mixed  with 
each  other.  These  beautiful  and  bountiful  laws  are 
made  to  work  mischief.  Gravitation  draws  down  a 
rock  to  crush  us.  Chemical  affinity  mixes  poison  to 
gender  disease.  On  the  other  hand,  there  are  skilful 
laws  to  bring  good  out  of  evil,  alleviating  disease, 
and  purposely  bringing  it  to  an  end.  There  is  a  sin- 
gular fitness  in  the  structure  and  arrangement  of  the 
internal  organs  of  our  body  ;  but,  then,  how  liable 
heart   and   brain   to  become  deranged!  —  a  point 


THE   WORLD  .1   SCENE  OF  CONTa  7 

fixed  upon  and  used  for  his  purposes  by  Comte,  the 
founder  of  the  Positive  school.  Sir  John  Herschell 
dwelt  with  evident  delight  <>n  the  formation  of  the 
eye,  as  showing  such  indubitable  traces  of  design  ; 
and  no  researches  of  science  will  ever  be  able  to 

diminish    the   wonder  excited    by   the    adaptations 
COatS,  humors,  and  muscles   to  the  rays  of  light      On 
the    other  hand,  llelmholtz  alleges  that   there  are  de- 
fects in  that  organ  which  would  not  be  allowed  in  the 
construction  of  an  optic  glass  by  a  mechanic. 

What  are  we  to  make  of  this  double  class  of  facts, 
so  mixed  up  with  each  other?  Two  theories  have 
been  proposed,  neither  having  much  show  of  reason, 
—  one,  the  Manieha-an,  that  there  is  an  Evil  Spirit, 
independent  of  God  and  contending  with  God  This 
is  inconsistent  with  the  idea  of  God,  —  the  One,  the 
Self-existent,  the  Creator  and  Source  of  all  things, — 
and  of  what  we  see  of  the  unity  of  the  world.  An- 
other supposition  has  been  started,  that,  before  man 
appeared,  our  earth  was  the  scene  of  war  between 
God  and  devils,  who  are  seeking  to  regain  their  old 
ascendancy.  No  fact  can  be  adduced  in  favor  of  this 
tho.rv,  which  is  a  mere  fancy,  with  nothing  to  sup- 
port it.  So  we  may  turn  to  the  account  which  is 
given  in  the  Word  of  God,  to  learn  whether  it  is 
in  accordance  with  the  twofold  phenomenon. 

According  to  Scripture,  moral  and  physical  evil  has 
intruded  into  our  world.  We  have  traces  of  it  before 
man  was  created,  in  the  fall  of  angelic  beings,  who 
are  ready  to  tempt  Adam  and  Eve,  From  the  very 
day  when  man  fell,  we  have  a  contest  going  on  in  our 


8  THE   WORLD  A   SCEXE   OE  COXTEST. 

world.  I  do  not  assert,  with  some  of  our  older  di- 
vines, that  pain  and  death  came  upon  the  lower  ani- 
mals because  Adam  fell.  But  it  is  a  noticeable  fact 
that  death  has  reigned  all  along  since  living  beings 
appeared,  even  over  those  who  have  "  not  sinned  after 
the  similitude  of  Adam's  transgression,"  on  that  earth 
on  which  man  has  sinned.  Our  world  is  thus  of  a 
piece  in  itself,  and  its  history  is  consistent  through- 
out. The  science  of  these  later  years  is  ever  speak- 
ing of  the  struggle  for  existence  in  ages  past,  and  of 
the  weaker  races  giving  way  before  the  stronger.  Our 
world  is  still,  as  it  has  ever  been,  a  scene  of  struggle 
and  of  warfare.  All  history  and  our  whole  experience 
testify  to  this  effect.  It  is  the  account  given  through- 
out the  Scriptures.  It  is  the  picture  set  before  us 
in  the  text. 

The  language  has  reference  first  of  all  to  the  ser- 
pent literally,  as  going  on  its  belly,  as  crawling  in  the 
dust,  as  stinging  the  heel  of  the  family  of  the  woman. 
There  is  enmity  between  the  serpent  and  the  woman: 
in  the  venom  of  the  serpent,  and  the  shrinking  from 
the  serpent  on  the  part  of  the  human  race ;  and  in 
the  superstitious  feeling  which  has  gathered  round  the 
animal  in  so  many  countries.  But  underneath  the 
symbol  there  is  an  ethical  truth.  The  tempter,  to 
avoid  alarm,  came  in  the  form  of  the  gliding  and  parti- 
colored serpent,  the  most  subtle  of  all  the  beasts  of 
the  field  which  lay  beyond  Eden  ;  but  himself  of  a 
vastly  more  subtle  nature,  being  no  other  than  that 
"  old  serpent,  the  devil."  There  is  an  enmity  between 
the  seed  of  the  serpent  and  the  seed  of  the  woman, — 


THE   WORLD  A   SCENE  02  EST.         9 

"the  seed  of  the  serpent,"  the  seed  of  evil,  the  wick- 
edness on  the  earth  organized  by  Satan  ;  and  "  the 
I  of  the  woman,"  not  "  seeds"  as  of  main,  so  the 
Apostle  argues  (Gal.  hi.  i6),  but  seed  as  of  one  ;  not 
"she,"  as  the  Vulgate  and  the  Church  of  Rome  would 
make  it  to  magnify  Mary, but  "he"  or  "  it,"  pointing 
to  One  who  was  to  contend  with  and  conquer  the  evil. 
The  fathers  of  the  race  might  not  have  understood 
this  as  fully  as  we  do,  with  the  higher  knowledge  that 
we  have  ;  but  in  fact  they  did  know  that  the  (  me  here 
spoken  of  and  round  whom  their  hopes  clustered  was 
to  have  power  to  crush  their  arch-enemy,  and  yet  was 
to  be  one  of  the  human  race,  the  seed  of  the  woman, 
liable  to  suffering  and  having  his  heel  bruised.  There 
is  to  be  a  contest  between  the  two  and  between  the 
seed  of  the  two,  —  the  serpent  crawling  in  the  dust  is 
to  bite  the  heel  of  the  seed  of  the  woman,  but  as  he 
does  so  the  seed  of  the  woman  is  to  put  his  heel  on 
the  serpent's  head  and  to  crush  it.  We  have  here,  in 
epitome,  the  history  of  our  world,  the  history  of  man, 
the  history  of  redemption,  all  in  one. 

I.  There  is  a  Contest  in  the  World.  We  have  a 
vivid  history  of  it  in  the  Scriptures  both  of  the  (  >ld  and 
New  Testaments.  We  have  first  a  picture  of  a  garden 
with  every  tree  that  is  lovely  to  the  eye  and  good  for 
food,  but  a  serpent  creeps  into  it,  and  leaves,  as  his 
trail,  temptation,  sin,  and  death.  The  tree  of  life  is 
visible,  but  a  flaming  sword  guards  it.  Driven  out  of 
Eden,  in  order  to  earn  subsistence  man  has  to  contend 
with  a  stubborn   soil.     There  is  strife  in  the  family  of 


10         THE    WORLD  A    SCENE   OF  CONTEST. 

tin-  erring  pair:  "And  Cain  talked  with  Abel  his 
brother  :  and  it  came  to  pass,  when  they  were  in  the 
field,  that  Cain  rose  up  against  Abel  his  brother,  and 
slew  him."  In  the  worship  of  God  now  established, 
there  are  not  only  fruits  offered  in  thanksgiving,  there 
is  a  lamb  slain,  as  if  to  make  atonement  for  sin.  In  the 
antediluvian  world  there  is  a  contest  between  two  races, 
between  the  family  of  Seth  and  the  family  of  Cain  ; 
Enoch,  who  walks  with  God,  being  the  representative 
of  the  one,  and  Lamech,  making  a  boast  of  polygamy 
and  murder  (in  the  earliest  preserved  poetry),  the 
representative  of  the  other.  This  contest  culminates 
in  the  opposition  between  Noah,  the  preacher  of 
righteousness,  and  an  ungodly  world  perishing  in  the 
waters.  It  is  renewed  after  the  flood ;  and  God  has 
to  separate  Abram  from  his  country,  his  kindred,  and 
his  father's  house,  that  he  might  be  the  head  of  a 
people  to  keep  up  the  knowledge  of  the  true  God  and 
of  the  coming  seed  of  the  woman  upon  the  earth.  It 
breaks  out  in  the  feud  between  Jacob  and  Esau,  and 
in  that  between  Joseph  and  his  brethren.  It  is  acted 
before  us  on  a  grand  scale,  with  the  greatest  of  ancient 
nations  as  spectators,  in  the  terrible  struggle  between 
Moses  and  Pharaoh,  and  the  judgments  descending 
on  the  Egyptians.  On  the  children  of  Israel  escaping 
from  bondage,  a  song  of  war  and  of  triumph  is  sung: 
"  The  Lord  is  a  man  of  war  :  the  Lord  is  his  name." 
..."  Sing  ye  to  the  Lord,  for  he  hath  triumphed  glori- 
ously,"—  a  song  sung  ever  since  in  the  church  of 
God,  and  to  be  sung  by  the  church  in  heaven,  where 
they  "  sing   the   song  of  Moses  and  of  the   Lamb.'' 


THE   WOULD  A  SCENE  OF  CONTEST.        II 

The  deep  problem  discussed  in  the  Book  of  Job  is, 
What  is  the  meaning  of  suffering,  and  how  docs  it 

stand  related  to  sin  ?  The  field  of  battle  is  very  much 
like  that  Which  the  Hebrew  youth  saw  when  he  left 
his    flocks    to   visit    the    army    of     Israel:    "And    the 

Philistines  stood  on  a  mountain  on  the  one  side,  and 
Israel  stood    on  a   mountain   on   the  other   side:  and 
there  was   a    valley   between   them."      And    j 
giant  power  defying  the  armies  of  the   living   God  ; 
but  ye   may  also  see  one  who  seems  but  a  stripling, 
and   using  very  humble  weapons;  but  who  can   say, 
"Thou  comest  to  me  with  a  sword,  and  with  a  spear, 
and  with  a  shield  :  but  I  come  to  thee  in  the  name  of 
the  Lord  of  hosts,  the  God  of  the  armies  of   Israel, 
whom  thou  hast  defied."     In  the  book  of  Psalms,  the 
imagery  is  largely  borrowed  from  war.  but  the  weapons 
are  spiritual  :    "  Gird   thy  sword  upon   thy  thigh,    O 
most  mighty,  with   thy  glory  and  thy   majesty  :  and 
in    thy    majesty    ride    prosperously;"   but    then    the 
weapons  are  "truth  and  meekness  and  righteousness." 
(Ps.  xlv).     These  psalms  have  been  sung  ever  since  in 
the  church,  and  have  been  so  because  they  come  home 
to  the  experience  of  God's  people:   "  Woe  is  me,  that 
I  sojourn   in   Meshech  :   that  I  dwell  in  the  tents  of 
Kedar.    My  soul  hath  long  dwelt  with  him  that  hateth 
peace;    I  am  for  peace,  but  when  I  speak  they  are  for 
war."     Heaven  mingles  in  the  battle,  and  a  sufferer  has 
to    cry,  "  My  God,  my  God,  why  hast  thou  forsaken 
me  ?  "    The  greatest  of  the  Jewish  prophets,  the  grand- 
est of  their  poets,  had  to  sing:   "  He  was  wounded  for 
our  transgressions,  he  was  bruised  for  our  iniquities  ; 


12         THE    WORLD  A    SCENE   OF  CONTEST. 

the  chastisement  of  our  peace  was  upon  him  ;  and 
with  his  stripes   we  are  healed." 

The  same  contest  reappears  in  the  New  Testament. 
Our  Lord  "  came  unto  his  own,  and  his  own  received 
him  not."  He  tells  us  that  "offences  must  come," 
adding,  "  woe  be  to  him  through  whom  they  come." 
When  he  appears  on  our  earth,  Satan,  afraid  of  losing 
his  power,  combines  his  hosts  against  him,  and  exer- 
cises a  power,  such  as  has  not  been  allowed  him  before 
or  since,  in  possessing  the  souls  and  bodies  of  men. 
He  has  to  remove  misapprehensions  as  to  the  effects 
of  his  mission  :  "  Suppose  ye  that  I  am  come  to  give 
peace  on  earth  ?  I  tell  you,  nay;  but  rather  division." 
There  are  terrible  scenes  in  all  wars,  but  especially  in 
those  domestic  wars  in  which  fellow-countrymen  and 
friends  are  fighting  with  each  other.  Our  Lord  had 
to  speak  of  such  scenes  in  the  Christian  warfare  : 
"  For  from  henceforth  there  shall  be  five  in  one  house 
divided,  three  against  two,  and  two  against  three.  The 
father  shall  be  divided  against  the  son,  and  the  son 
against  the  father ;  the  mother  against  the  daughter, 
and  the  daughter  against  the  mother."  Peter  was 
amazed,  and  began  to  rebuke  him,  when  he  had  to  say 
that  "  The  Son  of  man  must  suffer  many  things,  and 
be  rejected  of  the  elders,  and  of  the  chief  priests,  and 
scribes,  and  be  killed,  and  after  three  days  rise  again." 

He  warned  his  diseiples  that  the  world  would  treat 
them  as  it  treated  him  :  "If  they  have  persecuted  me, 
they  will  also  persecute  you."  The  most  active  of  the 
Apostles  had  to  say,  "Of  the  Jews  five  times  received 
I    forty   stripes   save   one  ;  thrice  was    I    beaten   with 


THE   WORLD  A  SCENE   OF  CONTEST.        13 

rods,  once  was  I  stoned,  thrice  I  suffered  shipwri 

a  night  and  a  day  have  I  been   in   the  deep;   in  jour- 

neyings  often,  in  perils  of  waters,  in  perils  of  robbers, 

in  perils  of  mine  own  countrymen,  in  perils  by  the 
heathen,  in  perils  in  the  city,  in  perils  in  the  wilder- 
ness, in  perils  in  the  sea,  in  perils  anion-"  false  breth- 
ren." Even  in  the  church  of  God,  tares  sprang  up 
where  only  wheat  was  sown,  showing  a  previous  de- 
posit of  the  seed  of  evil.  A  falling  away  is  predicted, 
and  "the  man  of  sin  is  revealed  who  opposeth  and 
exalteth  himself  above  all  that  is  called  God  or  is 
worshipped, SO  that  he  as  God  sitteth  in  the  temple  of 
God,  showing  himself  that  he  is  God."  Speaking 
apparently  of  the  times  in  which  we  live,  Peter  S 
"  Knowing  this  first,  that  there  shall  come  in  the  last 
days  scoffers,  walking  after  their  own  lusts,  and  sav- 
ing, Where  is  the  promise  of  his  coming  ?  for  since 
the  fathers  fell  asleep,  all  things  continue  as  they  were 
from  the  beginning  of  the  creation."  In  the  closing 
book  of  Scripture,  trumpets  are  sounded  and  vials  are 
poured  forth.  This  continues  till  the  holy  city,  the 
new  Jerusalem,  comes  down  from  heaven. 

What  we  see  in  the  world  corresponds  to  this  pic- 
ture drawn  in  Scripture,  Do  we  not  see  both  good 
and  evil  in  our  world?  There  is  certainly  good  in 
our  world.  There  are  high  intellectual  powers,  and 
deep  earnestness  and  strong  affection,  —  the  affection 
of  a  mother  for  her  children.  All  these  are  good  in 
themselves,  and  evil  only  so  far  as  they  are  abused. 
We  find  courage  and  honesty  in  man,  and  modesty 
and  virtue  in  woman.     Our  world   shows  us   irreprcs- 


14        THE    WORLD  A   SCEXE   OF  CONTEST. 

sible  zeal,  noble  enterprises,  unceasing  activity,  and 
schemes  of  enlarged  benevolence.  But,  on  the  other 
hand,  there  are  wars  and  rumors  of  wars,  constituting 
so  large  a  portion  of  human  history;  the  feuds  of 
cities  and  villages  and  rural  districts  ;  and  rivalries, 
jealousies,  and  quarrels  in  the  bosom  of  families. 
The  world  still  shows  such  scenes  as  Eve  saw  when 
she  had  to  look  on  the  dead  body  of  one  son  slain  by 
the  hand  of  another  son.  The  people  of  this  country 
had  a  severe  struggle  before  they  could  earn  their 
independence.  The  stain  of  slavery  has  had  to  be 
washed  out  by  blood.  The  influence  of  Christ  is 
everywhere  seen,  felt,  and  acknowledged ;  but  the 
power  of  Antichrist  is  thereby  provoked  into  activity. 
When  good  men  set  up  a  church  or  a  school,  bad  men 
set  up,  perhaps  opposite  it,  a  place  of  temptation  to 
intemperance  or  licentiousness  or  gambling,  or  some 
other  evil.  At  the  foot  of  Sinai,  where  God  was  show- 
ing his  awful  wonders,  the  people  gave  themselves  up 
to  idolatry  in  the  day,  and  in  the  evening  sat  down  to 
eat  and  drink,  and  rose  up  to  play.  In  our  seasons  of 
revival,  while  numbers  are  fleeing  to  Christ,  some  are 
repelled,  and  fall  into  more  than  common  wickedness. 
Zion  has  its  towers  :  "  Walk  ye  about  Zion,  and  go 
round  about  her:  tell  the  towers  thereof.  Mark  ye 
well  her  bulwarks,  consider  her  palaces."  But  oppo- 
site them,  and  frowning  upon  them,  and  opening  fire 
upon  them,  ye  may  discern  the  "gates  of  hell."  The 
enmity  of  the  world  came  forth  in  the  early  church  in 
persecution  dire  and  unrelenting.  This  is  no  longer 
permitted  in  lands  where  Christianity  has  had  its  full 


THE    WORLD  A   SCENE   OF  COM:  15 

influence;   but  the  hostility  manifests  itself  in  j< 

and  scoffs,  which  the  young  feel  it  difficult  to  hear. 
The  Psalmist  had  to  say,  "They  that  sit  in  the  gate 

speak  against  me,  and  I  was  the  son-"  of  the  drunkard." 
We  may  see  the  same  enmity  in  every  country,  every 
village,  every  college,  and  every  school,  as  it  showed 
itself  when  the  children  mocked  the  prophet,  "Go  Up, 
thou  bald  head."  We  have  still  such  scenes  as  were 
presented  in  the  family  of  Jacob  when  Joseph  was  hated 
of  his  brethren.  We  see  it  when  the  youth  is  mocked 
because  of  his  strict  morality,  of  his  prayers,  and  his 
religious  earnestness. 

The  battle  is  raging  all  around  us,  and  each  one  is 
taking  part  in  it,  whether  he  knows  it  or  not.  If  we 
are  not  on  the  side  of  the  good,  we  must,  whether  we 
are  aware  of  it  or  no,  be  on  the  side  of  the  evil.  Our 
Lord  says,  "He  that  is  not  with  me  is  against  me." 
God  has  a  cause  in  this  world,  and  all  who  are  truly 
serving  him  have  to  fight  for  it,  have  to  tight  for  his 
Word,  for  his  law,  for  his  Sabbath;  have  to  contend 
against  the  evil,  against  intemperance  and  deceit,  and 
other  prevailing  sins. 

At  times,  we  cannot  say  which  side  is  to  gain  the 
victory,  which  is,  apparently  inclining  now  on  the  one 
side,  now  on  the  other.  Hut  there  is  a  power  above, 
swaying  and  determining  the  whole,  even  as  M 
seated  on  the  hill,  decided  the  battle  for  Joshua, in  his 
fight  with  the  Amalekites.  The  issue  is  certain,  and 
already  we  see  signs  of  it.  The  good  is  growing  and 
prevailing.  In  the  physical  world,  we  see  wastes 
and   forests    disappearing,   and    cultivated    fields   and 


1 6         THE    WORLD  A   SCENE   OF  CONTEST. 

human  habitations  taking  their  place.  We  find  wild 
beasts  destroyed,  and  man,  with  domestic  animals, 
spreading  all  over  the  earth.  The  serpent's  brood  is 
being  bruised  under  the  heel  of  man  ;  and  we  look  for 
the  time  when  "  the  wolf  shall  dwell  with  the  lamb, 
and  the  leopard  shall  lie  down  with  the  kid,  and  the 
calf,  and  the  young  lion,  and  -the  fading  together,  and 
a  little  child  shall  lead  them."  In  the  struggle,  the 
weak  and  diseased  disappear,  and  the  strong  and  the 
healthy  take  their  place.  Life  is  being  gradually  pro- 
longed, and  the  time  is  coming  when  "  the  child  shall 
die  an  hundred  years  old."  And  there  are  stronger 
agencies  at  work  on  the  earth  than  the  mechanical,  or 
even  the  intellectual  :  there  are  moral  and  spiritual 
powers  coming  into  greater  and  greater  prominence, 
and  exercising  a  wider  influence  in  churches  and 
schools  and  mission  stations.  The  heel  is  being 
wounded  ;  but  then  that  heel  is  on  the  serpent's 
head,  and  is  to  crush  it  for  ever.  "  The  God  of  Peace 
shall  bruise  Satan  under  your  feet  shortly."  Already 
faith  beholds  "  Satan  as  lightning  fall  from  heaven." 

"The  whole  creation  groans, 

And  waits  to  hear  that  voice 
That  shall  restore  her  comeliness, 

And  make  her  wastes  rejoice. 
Come,  Lord,  and  wipe  away 

The  curse,  the  sin,  the  stain, 
And  make  this  blighted  world  of  ours 

Thine  own  fair  world  again. 
Come,  then,  Lord  Jesus,  come." 

II.  There  is  an  Internal  Struggle.  There  is  a 
division  riot  only  in  society  at  large,  but  in  the  indi- 
vidual ;  not  only  in  the  house,  but  in  the  heart. 


THE    WORLD  A   SCENE   OF  CONTEST.        17 

There  is  a  sense  in  which  there  is  a  Struggle  in 
every  heart.  "  From  whence  come  wars  and  fight- 
ings among  you  ?  Come  they  not  hence,  even  of  your 
lusts  that  war  in  your  members?"  (James  iv.  r.) 
Peter  speaks  of  "fleshly  lusts  which  war  against  the 
soul"  (1  Pet.  ii.  11).  These  lusts  are  often  inconsist- 
ent with  each  other.  Thus,  the  same  man  may  be 
s waved  by  ambition  and  the  love  of  ease,  and  the  two 
war  against  each  other  ;  he  would  wish  to  have  honors, 
but  is  too  indolent  to  toil  for  them.  Seated  in  a  re- 
gion above  them,  the  conscience  will  from  time  to 
time  strive  with  these  lusts,  but  ineffectually,  —  as  we 
have  seen  an  opposing  wind  ruffling  the  surface  oi 
a  mighty  river,  which,  in  the  mean  while,  flows  on  as 
determinedly  as  ever.  So  it  is  with  the  stream  of 
human  nature:  there  are  passions  which  war  against 
each  other,  and  reproaches  of  conscience  disturbing 
them  ;  but  the  current  moves  on  tumultously,  but 
resolutely.  Such  is  the  war  in  the  heart  of  the 
natural  man.  But  there  is  a  more  marked  contest 
in  the  breast  of  the  spiritual  man. 

When  the  children  of  Israel  entered  the  land  of 
Canaan,  the  command  was  that  they  should  utterly 
exterminate  the  Canaanites.  They  were  to  break 
down  their  altars,  and  make  no  league  with  them. 
But,  neglecting  to  take  counsel  of  the  Lord,  they 
were  deceived  by  the  Gibeonites  ;  and,  disobeying 
the  specific  command  given  them,  they  entered  into 
league  with  the  Canaanites.  "The  Canaanites  would 
dwell  in  that  land:  and  it  came  to  pass  when  Israel 
was  strong  he  put  the  Canaanites  to  tribute."'     '1  he 


IS         THE    WORLD  A    SCENE   OF  CONTEST. 

consequence  was  that  the  Israelites  had  to  endure  for 
centuries  the  punishment  incurred  by  their  disobe- 
dience. Though  as  a  whole  subdued,  the  Canaanites 
continued  to  harass  the  Israelites  ;  and  on  one  occa- 
sion they  all  but  regained  possession  of  the  country, 
when  Sisera,  the  captain  of  Jabin,  king  of  the  Canaan- 
ites, "  came  out  with  nine  hundred  chariots  of  iron, 
and  for  twenty  years  oppressed  mightily  the  children 
of  Israel."  Which  things  may  be  an  allegory  to  us. 
The  Lord's  command  to  us  is  utterly  to  exterminate 
our  sins.  "  If  thy  right  eye  offend  thee,  pluck  it  out ; " 
"  If  thy  right  hand  offend  thee,  cut  it  off."  But, 
neglecting  this  clear  injunction,  we  spare  some  of  our 
sins ;  often  like  Saul,  who  spared  Agag  the  king,  we 
spare  the  chief,  the  besetting,  sin  :  and  our  sins  will 
dwell  in  our  souls,  and  we  imagine  that  we  can,  as  it 
were,  put  them  to  tribute  ;  that  is,  that  we  can  keep 
them  under,  and  use  them  as  we  please,  and  even 
turn  them  into  a  source  of  pleasure.  We  are  like  the 
ancient  Samaritans,  of  whom  it  is  said,  "  They  feared 
the  Lord,  and  served  their  own  gods."  The  sins 
allowed  to  remain  struggle  for  the  mastery,  and  some- 
times oppress  the  soul  mightily ;  and  we  are  troubled 
with  reproaches  as  to  the  past,  and  fears  as  to  the 
future.  On  the  occasion  of  the  Israelites  entering 
into  league  with  the  Canaanites,  the  angel  of  the 
Lord  appeared,  and  declared  that,  in  consequence  of 
their  disobedience,  the  Canaanites  would  ever  after 
be  as  thorns  in  their  sides  ;  and  when  the  children  of 
Israel  heard  these  things,  they  lifted  up  their  voice, 
and  called  the  name  of  that  place  Hochim,  or  weep- 


THE    WORLD  A    SCENE  OF  CONTEST.        19 

ing.  Often  does  the  Christian  in  his  journey  come 
to  a  Bochim,  when   he  discovers  that  his  sins  arc 

thorns  in  his  side,  —  messengers  of  Satan  to  buffet 
him  ;  and  he  has  to  set  up  a  weeping  because  of 
them. 

What  is  the  Christian  life  ?     It  is  a  work,  it  is  a  war- 
fare.    It  is  a  campaign  in  an  enemy's  country.     It  is 
a  voyage  through  winds  and  waves.     It  consists  in  the 
conquest  of  sin  in  a  sinful  nature  ;  in  the  attainment 
of  holiness  by  an  unholy  heart.     The  Christian  life 
is  life  from  the  dead.     It  is  like  life  in  an   infected 
city;  it  is  sustained  in  the  midst  of   deleterious  and 
deadly  influences.     The  sinner,  as  yet  in  his  sins,— 
unconverted,  careless,  —  is  not  engaged  in  the  battle, 
and   is   not    aware    of    the    strength    of    the    enemy. 
Those  who  are  going  down  with  the  stream,  floating 
on  its  bosom,  may  not  know  its  power  ;  those  only 
who  are  bearing  up  against  it  are  conscious  of  the 
power  of    the   current.       The   children  of    Israel  sat 
contentedly  by  the  fleshpots  of  Egypt  as  long  as  they 
submitted  to  their  slavery;    it  was  when   they  were 
seized  with  a  spirit  of    independence  that  they  felt 
how  hard  their  tasks,  and  how  harsh   their  taskmas- 
ters.     It  is  when  the  captive  would  break  his  chains 
that  the  iron  enters  his  soul.     If  you  have  tried    to 
love  God,  you  have  found  how  difficult  it  is  to  raise 
these  hearts  above  the  objects  of  the  earth.     If  you 
have  been  striving  to  keep  up  a  heavenly  temper,  you 
have  felt  that  your  affections  flow  downwards  like  the 
stream,  instead  of  mounting  upward  like  the  evapora- 
tions  drawn  up  by  the  sun.     You  have  experienced 


20         THE    WORLD  A   SCEXE   OF  COXTEST. 

the  activity  and  malignity  of  the  powers  of  evil  in 
the  struggles  of  regeneration,  as  God  led  you  against 

your  evil  nature,  your  cherished  inclinations  and  con- 
firmed habits,  to  give  up  the  world,  and  devote  your- 
selves to  God.  You  are  made  every  day  to  discover 
their  influence  and  their  strength,  as  you  would  con- 
quer sin,  as  you  would  reach  holiness  of  heart.  As 
you  would  make  progress,  you  are  made  to  feel  them 
as  hindrances  restraining  you.  As  you  would  mount 
upward,  they  act  as  weights  dragging  you  down. 

It  is  a  contest  between  the  lower  principles  of 
man's  nature,  and  the  higher,  quickened  and  sancti- 
fied by  the  Spirit  of  God.  It  is  a  struggle  between 
selfishness  and  benevolence,  between  lust  and  con- 
science, between  appetite  and  reason,  between  pleas- 
ure and  duty,  between  love  of  ease  and  zeal  for  good, 
between  cowardice  and  courage,  between  the  fear  of 
man  and  the  fear  of  God,  between  deceit  and  candor, 
between  malignity  and  love,  between  immediate  grat- 
ification and  final  blessedness,  between  earth  and 
heaven.  The  powers  of  evil,  on  the  one  hand,  are 
numerous  and  varied  —  their  name  is  legion,  for  they 
are  many.  But  so,  on  the  other  hand,  are  the  powers 
of  good  to  meet  and  confront  them,  —  the  gifts  and 
graces  bestowed  by  God  ;  and  the  two  sides  have  often 
to  fight  detachment  with  detachment,  and  hand  to 
hand.  The  fight  is  briefly  described  by  Paul :  "  The 
flesh  lusteth  against  the  spirit,  and  the  spirit  against 
the  flesh  ;  and  these  are  contrary  the  one  to  the 
other"  (Gal.  v.  17).  This  is  a  description  of  uni- 
versal  Christian   experience.      We  have   seen   that   in 


THE    WORLD  A   SCENE  OF  CONTEST.        21 

the   Old   Testament,  and  especially  in   the    Psalms, 

there   is    constant    reference    to    a  war.      We  have  a 
minute  description  of  the  struggles  in  Romans  vii.: 

"I  find  a  law  which,  when  I  would  do  good,  evil  is 
present  with  me.  For  I  delight  in  the  law  of  God 
after  the  inward  man.  Hut  I  see  another  law  in  my 
members,  warring  against  the  law  of  my  mind,  and 
bringing  me  into  captivity  to  the  law  of  sin  which  is 
in  my  members."  He  has  to  add  :  "  O,  wretched  man 
that  I  am  !  who  shall  deliver  me  from  the  body  of  this 
death  ?  "  In  this  language,  a  reference  is  made  to 
a  barbarous  custom.  The  Romans  chained  the  pris- 
oner to  a  soldier  ;  and  it  might  be,  when  the  prisoner 
died,  the  soldier  found  himself  tied  to  a  dcid 
body.  Virgil  paints  in  all  its  horrors  the  practice 
of  the  tyrant  Mezentius,  who  bound  the  living  to 
the  dead,  hand  to  hand,  and  mouth  to  mouth.  Paul 
felt  as  if  he  were  a  living  man  joined  to  a  dead 
body,  and  had  to  cry,  Who  will  deliver  me  from 
this  corpse  ?  Look  to  the  confessions  of  Augus- 
tine, to  the  letters  and  lives  of  the  reformers,  to 
the  diaries  of  later  Christians,  and  we  find  them 
all  uttering  the  same  sentiments  in  different  tongues  ; 
mourning  over  a  remainder  of  sin  with  which  they 
are  earnestly  contending,  and  which  they  hope  finally 
to  conquer.  It  is  interesting  to  notice  this  uni- 
formity of  Christian  experience,  and  to  observe  be- 
lievers separated  from  each  other  by  so  many  a 
and  living  in  such  different  states  of  society,  so  much 
the  same  in  feeling  and  in  character.     We  perceive 


22         THE    WORLD  A   SCENE   OF  CONTEST. 

that  our  religion  is  the  same  in  all  ages,  —  the  same 
grace  of  God  acting  on  the  same  human  nature. 

There  are  persons  who  wrest  this  truth,  as  they  do 
the  other  truths  of  Scripture,  to  their  destruction. 
They  urge  that,  as  all  believers  have  infirmities,  they 
may  be  allowed  to  have  theirs.  They  show  from  the 
Bible  and  from  the  history  of  the  church,  and  from  all 
that  we  see  around  us,  that  no  one  is  absolutely  per- 
fect, and  they  bring  this  as  an  excuse  for  their  past 
sin,  and  as  a  plea  to  allow  them  to  continue  in  it.  I 
admit  the  fact,  that  even  the  children  of  God  have 
their  infirmities;  but  did  you  ever  hear  of  their  allow- 
ing themselves  in  these,  or  pleading  the  misconduct 
of  others  as  a  justification  of  their  own  offences  ?  If 
you  are  doing  so,  it  is  a  proof  that  you  are  not  one  of 
them.  For  it  is  a  characteristic  of  all  of  them  that, 
instead  of  excusing  their  sins,  they  mourned  over 
them,  and  contended  resolutely  with  them.  If  the 
flesh  has  been  lusting  against  the  spirit,  it  is  equally 
true  that  the  spirit  has  been  contending  against  the 
flesh.  If  we  appeal  to  one  of  these  truths,  we  are 
required  to  accept  the  other  also  as  being  bound  up 
indissolubly  with  it.  If  we  have  an  awful  picture  of 
the  sin  of  David,  we  have  also  a  deeply  affecting  pic- 
ture of  his  penitence.  We  are  told  that  Peter  denied 
his  Master,  but  we  are  also  told  that,  afterwards,  he 
went  out  and  wept  bitterly.  The  Christian  may  have 
sins  that  beset  him  and  prevail  against  him,  but  he 
has  no  cherished,  no  willingly  allowed  sins.  His  be- 
setting sins  are  those  which  he  most  zealously  guards 
against.     The  sins  which  have  prevailed  against   him 


THE   WORLD  A   SCENE  OF  CONTEST.        23 

are  those  with  which  he  ever  afterwards  most  ear- 
nestly contends. 

We  arc  to  beware  of  giving  allowance  or  tolerance 
to  sin,  of  yielding  any  thing  to  it  or  entering  into  any 

kind  of  truce  with  it.  One  spark  may  ignite  a  whole 
building,  one  discordant  string  may  make  the  whole 
music  harsh  ;  so  one  sin  encouraged  may  destroy  all 
consistency  of  character.  In  what  a  pitiable  plight  is 
the  Christian  when  he  has  yielded  to  seduction,  and 
fallen  back  into  the  service  of  the  world  and  sin  !  His 
state  is  that  of  Samson  when  he  betrayed  his  secret, 
and  was  bound  so  easily,  and  became  the  object  of 
derision  to  the  Philistines,  and  had  to  grind  for  their 
profit  and  pleasure.  The  Israelites  could  not  gain 
one  other  victory  as  long  as  Achan,  who  took  of  the 
accursed  thing,  was  in  the  camp.  Is  there  some  one 
here  asking,  Why  have  I  so  little  peace  ?  Why  am  I 
making  so  little  progress  ?  Why  am  I  not  advancing 
as  rapidly  as  I  did  years  ago,  or  months  ago  ?  Prob- 
ably you  may  find  the  cause  of  the  whole,  not  in  any 
sovereign  appointment  of  God,  but  in  some  remaining 
sin  which  is  grieving  the  Spirit,  and  depriving  you 
of  all  holy  zeal  and  courage.  Cast  forth  this  traitor, 
and  you  will  find  yourselves  going  on  from  victory  to 
victorw 

But,  do  I  hear  some  timid  child  of  God,  ready  to 
give  up  the  contest,  saying,  "  Never  was  any  one  so 
tempted  as  I  am  "  ?  "  Will  the  Lord  cast  off  for  ever  ? 
and  will  he  be  favorable  no  more?  is  his  mercy  clean 
gone  for  ever?  doth  his  promise  fail  for  evermore? 
.  .  .   Hath  he  in  anger  shut  up  his  tender  mercies?" 


24         THE    WORLD   A    SCENE   OF  CONTEST. 

\  Ps.  lxxvii.  7-9).  See  that  you  add  with  the  same  com- 
plainant, "  This  is  my  infirmity,  but  I  will  remember 
the  years  of  the  right  hand  of  the  Most  High."  If 
the  issue  depended  on  yourself,  you  might  give  up  the 
fight.  But  "  fear  not,  for  they  that  be  with  us  are 
more  than  be  with  them."  Your  duty  is  clear:  wrestle 
till  the  breaking  of  the  day,  till  the  day  dawn  and  the 
day-star  arise  in  your  heart. 

The  two  opposing  forces,  the  grace  of  God  and  sin, 
must  contend  till  the  one  drives  out  the  other.  They 
can  no  more  live  at  peace  in  the  one  heart  than  the 
ark  of  the  covenant  and  Dagon  could  dwell  in  the 
same  temple:  on  the  very  first  night  in  which  the  ark 
was  placed  in  the  temple  the  idol  was  prostrated  to 
the  ground  ;  after  they  had  set  him  up  again,  it  was 
found  that  his  head  and  the  palms  of  his  hands  were 
cut  off  on  the  threshold,  only  the  stump  being  left. 
Thus  it  is  when  the  grace  of  God  enters  the  heart.; 
sin  is  first  cast  down,  and  in  the  end  is  utterly 
destroyed.  Christ  could  say,  ere  he  expired,  "  It  is  fin- 
ished !  "  The  disciple  can  also  say,  ere  he  leaves  this 
world,  "  It  is  finished !  "  Every  enemy  is  subdued, 
every  sin  conquered.  The  Christian  dies,  like  Samson, 
midst  the  glories  of  his  strength  ;  he  slays,  in  his  death, 
the  last  of  .his  spiritual  enemies.  He  dies  in  armor,  as 
we  have  heard  of  the  soldier  expiring  at  the  very  time 
when  his  troops  were  raisin-'  the  shout  of  victory. 
The  last  sound  which  he  hears  on  earth  is  the  clash 
of  aims  in  the  last  contest  with  sin,  and  the  first  sound 
which  he  hears  in  heaven  is  the  song  of  triumph, 
"Blessing  and  glory  and   honor  and  praise  be  unto 


THE   WORLD  A  SCENE  OF  CONTEST        25 

him  that  sitteth  on  the  throne,  and  the  Lamb  that  was 

slain."  The  soldier  of  the  cross  can  say,  as  the  earthly 
scene  closes  and  the  heavenly  opens,  "I  have  fought 
a  good  fight,  I  have  finished  my  course:  henceforth 
there  is  laid  up  for  me  a  crown  of  righteousness,  which 
the  Lord,  the  righteous  Judge,  will  give  me  at  that 
day." 

Gentlemen  of  the  Graduating  Classes,  Aca- 
demic, and  Scientific, —  We  would  send  you  forth 
from  these  walls  as  soldiers  of  the  cross.  We  shall 
be  disappointed  should  you  turn  out  to  be  of  those 
who  aim  simply  at  obtaining  as  many  as  possible  of 
the  comforts  and  enjoyments  of  this  world,  saying, 
with  the  Epicurean,  "  Let  us  eat  and  drink,  for  to- 
morrow we  die  ; "  or  even  of  those  who  have  the 
higher  ambition  to  distinguish  themselves  and  gain 
the  laurels  which  this  world  places  on  the  'brows  of 
its  votaries,  only  to  find  how  soon  they  wither  and 
become  an  incumbrance.  You  have  to  "  fight  the 
good  fight  of  faith,  and  lay  hold  of  eternal  life."  You 
have  foes  within  and  without  to  contend  with.  You 
have  to  defend  the  right,  to  oppose  the  evil,  and  prop- 
agate the  good. 

For  this  work  and  warfare  you  have  received  a  suit- 
able training  in  this  college.  We  have  sought  to  give 
you  knowledge  which  may  be  useful,  whatever  calling 
you  elect  to  follow,  —  as  cultivators  of  the  soil,  or 
merchants,  or  lawyers,  or  physicians,  or  engineers,  or 
ministers,  or  missionaries.  We  have  striven  to  call 
forth,  to  cultivate,  and  to  discipline  your  powers  of 

2 


20         THE    WORLD  A    SCENE   OF  CONTEST. 

mind,  and  to  enable  you  to  form  habits  of  application, 
of  regularity,  and  perseverance.  We  have  labored  to 
teach  you  what  is  right  and  what  is  wrong,  and  to 
found  duty  on  the  basis  of  the  Word  of  God.  Would 
that  we  could  impart  to  you  such  an  impulse  as  is 
given  by  that  mighty  engine  in  the  Centennial  Exhi- 
bition which  sets  miles  of  machinery  working.  We 
have  explained  to  you  again  and  again  the  way  to 
Christ  and  salvation.  God  himself  has,  I  believe,  been 
visiting  and  teaching  you.  Not  a  few  of  you  are  to  go 
forth  baptized  with  his  Spirit.  All  of  you  will  remem- 
ber in  your  future  lives,  in  time  and  in  eternity,  the 
solemn  scenes  through  which  the  college  passed  four 
or  five  months  ago,  when  there  were  among  you  such 
anxiety,  such  earnestness,  such  meetings  for  prayer, 
such  wrestlings  of  soul,  such  dealings  with  every  stu- 
dent. Some  of  you  have  for  years  past  been  professing 
followers  of  Christ.  But,  in  this  last  year,  you  have 
been  quickened  and  refreshed  ;  you  have  been  working 
for  your  Master  in  the  sphere  appropriate  to  you,  — 
among  your  fellow-students,  among  those  whom  you 
love  and  with  whom  you  have  associated.  We  send 
you  forth  now  as  veterans  to  fight  the  battles  of  the 
Lord  in  the  fields  which  God  may  allot  to  you. 
Some  of  you,  I  hope  many  of  you,  will  feel  as  if  you 
have  a  call  from  God,  as  clear  as  if  it  were  uttered  by 
a  voice  from  heaven,  to  devote  yourselves  to  the  ser- 
vice of  the  Lord  in  the  work  of  the  ministry  ;  some,  I 
expect,  regarding  the  field  as  the  world,  to  the  work 
oi  the  missionary  ;  and  you  will  not  let  any  obsta- 
cles or  difficulties  keep  you  back.     The  good  soldier 


THE   WORLD  A   SCENE   OF  CONTEST.        27 

does  not  fear  danger;  like  the  war-horse  of  the  hook 
of  Job :  "He  saith  among  the  trumpets,  Ha,  ha;  and 
he  smelleth  the  battle   afar  off,  the  thunder  of  the 

captains,  and  the  shouting,"  and  he  rushes  into  the 
thickest  of  the  fight.  That  is  the  bravest  youth  among 
you  —  he  may  seem  the  most  timid  —  who  parts  with 
father  and  mother  and  sister  and  home  and  country, 
to  carry  salvation  to  those  who  are  perishing  for  laek 
of  knowledge  ;  and  the  mother,  as  she  stands  there 
weeping  at  her  door,  in  taking  her  last  look  of  him  in 
parting,  though  she  might  not  have  had  the  strength  to 
stay  him  for  all  the  honors  the  world  would  heap  upon 
him,  is  yet,  in  the  depths  of  her  heart,  proud  of  him, 
and  thanks  God  for  giving  her  such  a  son,  and  knows 
that,  whether  she  will  meet  with  him  again  on  earth 
or  no,  she  will  meet  him  in  glory.  Some  have  only 
lately  enlisted  in  the  service.  Your  names  are  on  the 
roll  of  an  honorable  company;  but,  we  remind  you, 
it  is  a  company  of  soldiers.  I  can  conceive  that  there 
is  some  youth  here  who,  in  looking  on  these  opposing 
armies  facing  and  frowning  on  each  other,  feels  like 
the  stripling  David,  when  he  came  from  Ids  hills  and 
from  his  sheep  to  see  the  battle  ;  and,  as  he  hears  that 
giant  evil  defy  the  living  God,  will  feel  his  whole  soul 
stirred  within  him,  and  will  go  forth  to  slay  the  enemy, 
though  it  were  only  with  a  sling  and  a  stone,  "in  the 
name  of  the  Lord  of  hosts." 

But  remember  that  you  have  not  only  a  battle  to 
fight  when  the  foe  faces  you  :  you  have  to  undertake 
a  campaign,  with,  it   may  be,  marchings  and  counter- 


28         THE    WORLD  A    SCENE   OF  CONTEST. 

marchings,  in  heat  and  in  cold,  in  sunshine  and  in 
storm.  You  may  have  to  contend  with  lassitude  and 
with  weakness,  with  lust  and  with  passion  within,  and 
without  with  selfishness  and  deceit  on  the  part  of 
your  fellow-men.  It  is  as  well  you  should  know  and 
realize  what  is  before  you.  You  have  to  wait  and 
watch,  as  well  as  to  march  and  fight.  You  have 
especially  to  guard  against  the  sins  that  conquered 
you  before,  and  that  will  seek  out  of  revenge  to  regain 
their  old  dominion.  Where  the  embankment  was 
broken,  though  now  mended,  it  will  be  most  apt  to 
give  way.  "  What  king  going  to  make  war  against 
another  sitteth  not  down  first,  and  consulteth  whether 
he  be  able  with  ten  thousand  to  meet  him  that  cometh 
against  him  with  twenty  thousand."  You  need  to  put 
on  the  whole  armor  of  God  that  you  may  stand,  and 
having  done  all  to  stand.  With  far  less  than  ten 
thousand,  you  have  to  stand  against  one  who  cometh 
with  vastly  more  than  twenty  thousand,  and  you  must 
needs  apply  for  and  obtain  a  higher  strength  than  your 
own. 

If  you  would  succeed,  you  must  be  making  progress. 
You  have  "faith,"  but  add  to  your  faith  "virtue,"  — 
the  old  Roman  virtue, —  courage,  manliness  that  holds 
the  face  to  the  foe,  and  knows  not  what  it  is  to  flee. 
You  have  to  choose  your  side,  and  see  that  you  choose 
it  not  because  it  is  the  strongest  side*  or  the  popular 
side,  but  because  it  is  the  right  side.  And,  when  you 
have  dune  s«»,  bo  not  ashamed  of  it.  Youth  is  com- 
monly spoken  of  as  fearless  and  courageous;  but  it 


THE   WORLD  A   SCENE   OE  CONTEST.        29 

is  often  cowardly  in  the  extreme  in  regard  to  the  opin- 
ion of  companions.  See  that  you  speak  out  resolutely 
and  bravely  on  all  questions  involving  right  and 
wrong.  You  must  form  no  compromise  with  the  foe. 
The  good  soldier  cannot  for  himself  enter  into  terms 
with  the  enemy.  You  would  form  some  combination 
with  the  wrong  ;  but  the  idol  fashioned  is  like  the 
image  partly  of  iron  and  partly  of  clay,  seen  by  Nebu- 
chadnezzar, and  the  parts  did  not  cleave  one  to  an- 
other, "  even  as  iron  is  not  mixed  with  clay,  and  the 
wind  shall  carry  them  away  like  the  chaff  of  the 
threshing  floor,  and  there  shall  no  place  be  found  for 
them."  The  mixture  of  purity  and  impurity  must  be 
impurity.  The  union  of  truth  and  error  must  be 
error,  perhaps  the  most  dangerous  of  all  errors,  as  the 
truth  may  be  made  to  impart  currency  to  the  error.  The 
deviation  from  the  straight  line  on  the  one  side  or 
other  must  be  crookedness.  The  mixture  of  hot  and 
cold  is  lukewarmness,  more  offensive  to  God  and 
man  than  either  the  hot  or  the  cold.  "  I  would  thou 
wert  cold  or  hot.  So  because  thou  art  lukewarm,  and 
neither  cold  nor  hot,  I  will  spue  thee  out  of  my 
mouth."  The  vacillating  man  is  inconsistent,  and  is 
followed  and  respected  by  no  one,  and  so  cannot  ex- 
ercise any  influence  for  good.  He  who  follows  the 
straight  course  will  in  the  end  be  respected  by  all. 
He  who  endeavors  to  gain  the  favor  of  both  sides  will 
be  apt  to  secure  the  confidence  of  neither,  will  be 
very  much  in  the  position  of  a  neutral  between  two 
armies,  —  exposed   to  the  fire  of  both.     "  Ye  cannot 


$0         THE   WORLD  A    SCENE   OF  CONTEST. 

.serve  God  and  mammon."  He  who  would  serve 
both  is,  in  reality,  though  he  may  not  be  aware  of  it, 
in  the  service  of  mammon. 

There  is  no  help  for  it :  you  must  go  on.  "  There  is 
no  discharge  in  that  war."  The  enemy,  though  so  far 
conquered,  is  not  finally  subdued,  and  shall  not  be  so 
till  completely  exterminated.  Many  an  imagined  con- 
quest has  been  changed  into  a  defeat,  by  those  who 
thought  they  had  gained  the  victory,  giving  up  the 
contest  prematurely.  If  you  give  up,  the  enemy  will 
turn  upon  you,  and  your  last  state  will  be  worse  than 
the  first,  —  reconquered,  humiliated,  and  despairing. 
You  are  now  in  the  position  of  the  children  of 
Israel  at  the  Red  Sea :  no  doubt  there  are  waters 
before  you  ;  but  the  enemy  is  behind  you,  and  your 
safety  lies  in  trusting  in  the  Lord  and  obeying  his 
voice.  "  Speak  unto  the  children  of  Israel  that 
they  go  forward."  But  you  ask  how  long  are  you  to 
continue  in  this  warfare.  I  answer  till  your  enemies 
are  destroyed,  till  all  your  sins  are  blotted  out.  If 
you  reply  that  this  must  be  unto  death,  I  say  that 
even  unto  death  you  must  still  be  pursuing.  Let  this 
be  the  inscription  on  your  standard  :  "  Be  thou  faith- 
ful unto  death,  and  Christ  will  give  you  a  crown  of 
life." 

But  I  feel  that  there  are  some  here  who  have  not  yet 
come  to  the  Saviour.  You  have  heard  truths  which 
have  saved  others,  and  would  have  saved  you  had  you 
embraced  them.  You  have  this  last  winter  passed 
through   scenes  which  you  can   never   forget,   when 


THE   WORLD  A   SCENE   OF  CONTEST.        31 

class-mates,  perhaps  room-mates  and  persona]  friends, 
were  flying  to  the  place  of  safety  like  doves  to  their 
windows,  and  you  were  left  out.  What  a  thought 
would  it  be  should  some  of  you  be  consigned  to  the 
dark  side  of  u  the  deep  gulf  fixed,"  to  look  across  and 
see  others  saved,  while  you  are  lost ;  to  find  yourselves 
in  hell  when  you  might  have  been  in  heaven  !  May 
these  truths  stick  within  you  as  barbed  hooks  till  you 
are  drawn  out,  as  Moses  was,  from  the  water. 

This  Senior  Class  in  the  Academic  Department  is 
the  largest  that  has  graduated  from  Princeton  college. 
The  best  members  have  been  distinguished  for  their 
sterling  ability,  the  solidity  of  their  acquirements, 
and  the  weight  of  their  character.  This  Senior  CI 
the  first  graduating  in  the  Scientific  Department,  gives 
good  promise  of  what  our  School  of  Science  is  to  be. 
It  will  be  an  inexpressible  pleasure  to  me  to  confer  on 
you  all  that  degree  you  have  earned  by  years  of  study. 
We  have  been  meeting  together  from  week  to  week, 
indeed  from  day  to  day  most  of  us,  for  now  three  or  four 
years.  It  would  be  a  proof  that  our  natures  were  very 
cold  if  we  did  not  feel,  and  feel  deeply,  at  the  thought  of 
separating.  Your  Alma  Mater  will  look  after  you  with 
deep  interest,  rejoicing  in  your  joy,  sympathizing  with 
you  in  any  sorrow  with  which  you  may  be  visited. 
pleased  above  all  when  she  hears  of  your  being  good 
and  doing  good.  She  will  inquire  after  you,  and  she 
wishes  you  to  visit  her  from  time  to  time  to  report 
what  you  are  doing,  and  that  she  may  keep  up  her 
acquaintance  with  you.     We  cherish  the  hope  that  at 


32         THE    WORLD  A    SCENE   OF  CONTEST. 

last  we  will  meet,  no  wanderer  lost,  in  that  place 
where  "ye  shall  receive  a  crown  of  glory  that  fadeth 
not  away." 

"  Breast  the  wave,  Christian,  when  it  is  strongest, 
Watch  for  day,  Christian,  when  night  is  longest, 
Onward  and  onward  still  be  thine  endeavor, 
The  rest  that  remaineth  endureth  for  ever. 

Fight  the  fight,  Christian,  Jesus  is  o'er  thee, 
Run  the  race,  Christian,  heaven  is  before  thee. 
He  who  hath  promised  faltereth  never, 
Oh,  trust  in  the  love  that  endureth  for  ever  !  " 


WORKS    BY    DR.    McCOS 


i 

THE    METHOD    OF    THE    DIVINE 
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"  It  is  refreshing  to  read  a  work  so  distinguished  lor 
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Hamilton. 

■  work  is  distinguished  fiom  other  similar  ones  by  i 
thorough  study  of  physical  Science,  and  an  accurate  know 
and  by  its  entering  in  a  deeper  and  more  unfettered  manner  th 
ussion  of  the   appropriate  \  sychological,   ethical,  a' 
The  author  keeps  aloof  at  once  from  the  a  /riari  idealism  a> 
speculation  since  Schelling,  and  from  the  one-sidedness  a' 
pirici^in  and  positivism  which  have  so  prevailed  in  Eng' 
psychology  and  ethics  lie  fallows  conscientiously  the  facts 
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II. 

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THE    INTUITIONS    < 

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The  amount  of  summarized  in 
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WORKS    BY    DR.    McCOSU. 


IV. 
VCE     OF     FUNDAMENTAL     TRUTH. 

'xamination  of  Mr.  J.  S.  Mill's  Philosophy.     8vo. 

lese  discussions  is  admirable.     Fearless  and  courteous,  McCosl. 
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r   McCosh  was  called  to  America  was  the  professo. 

Queen's  College,  Belfast ;  and  this  volume  of  two 

study  and  experience  in  the  department  of  logic. 

stive  exhibition' of  the  principles  of  the  science 

ered  than  perhaps  any  other  living  man.     He 

ligation  of  the  operations  of  the  human  mind 

he  science,  and  freely  avowing  his  regard  for 

mts  have  overthrown,  he  is  fully  in  harmony 

'quent  ages,  even  of  our  own  times,  have 

'mirably  adapted  to  the  use  of  classes 

y  and  rapidly  find   its  way."  — ./V.  Y. 


TIVISM.     A  Series  of 
Theology  and  Apologetics. 


BROTHERS, 


